Aftermath
by Mageia
Summary: The Baudelaires got rescued by the Question Mark. Things should be happy right? Well now young Isadora Quagmire struggles with her own conflict.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I'm NOT Lemony Snicket I do not own a series of unfortunate events.

Isadora Quagmire was sitting in the library of the gigantic submarine that had saved her and her brothers a few months ago. It had also saved the life of the boy she was staring at and the lives of his sister and adoptive daughter a few days ago when the _Beatrice_ sank. She couldn't stop staring at the boy as her pen automatically moved across the paper:

Peace will come to be 

_If I knew how you felt about me._

She put her pen down and looked at the boy who was reading a book on Henry XIII. How she felt about him could not be described in words. When she had found out that the Baudelaires had been rescued, she was filled with excitement and joy of seeing Klaus Baudelaire again. But was instantly disappointed to find that he had another significant other aboard the _Mystery_…

"Hi, Klaus," said a red-haired girl with triangle glasses approached him.

…Fiona. Isadora glared at them with jealousy. Klaus seemed so happy with Fiona. They both shared a great interest in science, even if Fiona _was_ only interested in fungi. Next to Fiona, the only thing that Isadora was good for was taking words and putting in two stupid lines. She turned her couplet in her hands until it ripped.

That caught Klaus's attention, "Issy, are you all right?"

The poet nodded.

"Klaus," said Fiona, "could we go somewhere private?"

"Sure," said Klaus. They both got up and walked away. Isadora stayed where she sat. She was tempted to eavesdrop on their conversation, but she was afraid of what she would see, of what she would find out. So the poet sat there, frozen like a porcelain statue. She couldn't remember the last time that _she_ had a private moment with him.

Isadora didn't know how many minutes, or hours, had gone by. The tension was killing her and she slammed her fists on the table in aggravation.

"Issy, what happe…." said Klaus as he ran into the room, but Isadora had already stormed halfway out the door.

Isadora stormed through the halls. _She's a traitor. What does he see in her? What do _I _mean to him? Why can't I tell him how much I feel ab-_

Her train of thought was interrupted when she bumped into a tall, muscular man with black hair that was graying a bit.

"Sorry, Thaddeus," said Isadora.

"Don't worry," said the ship captain, "are you alright? You look distraught."

"I'm fine," responded the poet and half-ran to her quarters.


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: I do not own a series of unfortunate events.**

Isadora lay on her bed looking at the ceiling. The door opened and a girl with long, brown hair entered the room.

"Are you alright?" asked the girl.

"Violet," responded Isadora, "how do you tell a guy that you like him?"

Violet shrugged, "Right now I'm trying to _avoid_ a certain someone."

"Violet?" someone called from the hallway. Violet quickly hid behind the door. A boy that looked a lot like Isadora appeared in the doorway, oblivious to the fact that who he was looking for would be revealed if he had moved the door a little bit.

"Have you seen Violet?" asked the boy.

"No," responded Isadora.

"If you see her, could you tell her that Quigley is looking for her?"

"Sure."

"Thanks, Issy," said Quigley and left.

"Thank you so much," said Violet.

"You're welcome," responded the poet, "still haven't decided who you like yet?"

"Actually, I have," responded Violet, "I just don't know how to tell them."

"You could have 'private meetings' with one of my brothers while the other sits and watches in agony as they sit wondering in torture and not being able to do anything about it."

"It's Klaus, isn't it?" asked Violet.

Isadora nodded and turned to bury her face in her pillow. Violet got up and sat on the edge of the bed.

"When it comes to love," said Violet, "guys, even those as incredibly intelligent as my brother, are extremely clueless that it's not even funny. I'm sure he didn't mean to hurt you."

Isadora had to laugh. Violet did have a point. She sat up and faced her friend.

"So," began Isadora, "which one of my brothers _did_ you choose?"

Violet opened her mouth to speak when Thaddeus's voice came up on the microphone.

"Attention all passengers, please report to the dining room at this time. All passengers please report to the dining room."

"I'll tell you later," said Violet as she and Isadora got up to go to dinner.


	3. Chapter 3

Thaddeus sat at the head of a long, oval table. Hector and ex-captain Widdershins were sitting to the left and right of him. Isadora took a seat to Klaus's right, Fiona sat at his left. Violet found a placement card with the initials VB in between those that said DQ and QQ. Violet sighed _Why does Thaddeus have to be so strict with our seating arrangements?_

Sunny Baudelaire and Phil came in serving chile con carne, a phrase which means beef marinated in chili sauce. After everyone was served, Sunny took a seat next to Beatrice (the baby) and Phil took his seat next to Captain Widdershins.

Isadora wrote something on her napkin and passed it to Violet under the table:

_Which one?_

Violet took out a pen. She waited for Duncan and Quigley to preoccupy themselves in their chile con carne before writing down which one of them she choose. The pen had not yet touched the paper when Thaddeus tapped his champagne glass with his butter knife.

"I have an announcement to make," said Thaddeus. The Baudelaires stiffened. Whenever someone said that, something unfortunate was happening.

"Right now the _Mystery_ is headed for my private island," continued the ship captain, "where my associates will prepare a vacation for all of us."

"Vacation?!" yelled ex-captain Widdershins, "Bring the tidal charts! Aye! Get me my harpoon! Aye! No, postpone the trip! Aye! No, let's go early! Aye! No, cancel it! Aye! The sugar bowl is at steak! Aye! The schism! Aye!"

"At ease, ex-captain," said Thaddeus, "we've been through this before. The _Mystery_ and her crew are neutral and will have nothing to do with the VFD schism. It broke apart too many families and has trusted too many fortunes to people. How is it that all of the families involved in the VFD had such enormous fortunes anyway? How did an organization so detached from the world get the money to give its members so much wealth?"

Many people opened their mouths to speak but closed it. Left to right, people were searching for an answer but couldn't find one. Thaddeus cleared his throat to get everyone's attention.

"And, my dear ex-captain, if you want to be a prude, you may remain on board the _Mystery_ reading title charts and decoding anagrams for a week," finished Thaddeus before taking out a remote control and pressing a button. The radar came down from the ceiling. In the center of the radar was a giant question mark that represented the _Mystery_. Up on the right was another question mark that was attached to the palm tree.

"We're almost there."

The _Mystery_ surfaced a good thirty meters from the island. Everyone got into a long boat. Ex-captain Widdershins, who had decided to come after all, was struggling to get into the boat, but only managed to get his pants soaked by the ocean water.

"Come on old man," complained Fernald, waving his hooks in the air, "even I managed to get on the damn boat!"

Klaus and Phil grabbed ex-captain Widdershins' arms and pulled him on board.

"I thank you! Aye! No, I am humiliated! Aye! No, I commend your strength! Aye! Why, Klaus, while we're on vacation, you should marry Fiona! Aye!"

Klaus and Fiona blushed. The pencil that Isadora was using broke. Violet crawled to Isadora's ear.

"The boy who I choose is…" began Violet.

"Land ho!" yelled Thaddeus as the boat touched the sand of the island. Everyone ran out of the boat to see what the island had to offer.


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer: I do not own ASOUE.**

Despite their unfortunate experiences with beaches and islands, the Baudelaires were excited to be there. Violet explored the underground control room to examine the elaborate machinery that Thaddeus's accomplices used to operate the island. Klaus immediately ran into the resort to check out the library. Sunny examined all of the fruit, seafood, and spices that she could use.

The Quagmires were also thrilled about their vacation. Quigley began to walk around the island, mapping out the coast and the resort. Isadora rushed to the library to read from the huge collection on poetry. Duncan checked the bulletin board for archives.

Isadora grabbed a book from the collection and sat down on an armchair that was resting on a cozy spot in the corner. After half an hour she got up and approached the window that took up the whole wall. The sun was setting over the sea, filling the sky with a beautiful pink and orange color, which was reflected in the water.

"Beautiful isn't it?"

Isadora jumped and saw that Klaus was standing next to her.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to startle you."

"It's okay," responded Isadora. She suddenly got lost in his brown eyes. He suddenly broke away.

"I better go," he said and walked out the door and left her to the sunset.

By the time Isadora had finished her book the sky was dark. She got out of her seat and headed out the door. She got to the top floor by elevator and turned the corner. She heard giggling from the room to her left. Curious, she opened the door and went in. The sight almost gave her a heart attack.

Two pairs of glasses lay on the floor, Klaus's shirt was unbuttoned, and his lips were glued to Fiona's. Isadora must have screamed because Klaus and Fiona jumped.

"Issy?" said Klaus trying to see without his glasses.

"KLAUS HOW COULD YOU?!" yelled Isadora. With tears in her eyes, her vision was as impaired as his as she ran out of the room.

"Issy!" called Klaus after he found his glasses. He ran into the hallway and ran into Violet.

"Violet," sad Klaus, "have you seen Issy?"

"YOU CLUELESS MORON!" yelled Violet, "CAN'T YOU SEE THAT SHE REALLY LIKES YOU?!"

Klaus was shaken, "Oh my God. I…I didn't mean to hurt her. I…I didn't know."

"HOW COULD YOU NOT KNOW?!"

"I don't know," responded Klaus, "what am I going to do?"

Violet starred at him, "You're a loser." With that she walked away.

Fiona walked out of the room and put her arms around Klaus.

"They don't understand," said Fiona, "let's face it, if they can't accept us, who are they to question your love life."

"Accepting it is one thing," said Klaus, "but I hurt her…"

"Listen," said the mycologist, "the Quagmire girl has to get used to the fact that the real world isn't a fantasy land and everything has to go her way. It is full of heartbreaks and despair and she has to suck it up and move on."

Isadora ran into her room and locked the door. She fell in her bed and cried herself to sleep.


	5. Chapter 5

Disclaimer: I do not own ASOUE 

Violet got out of bed and opened her closet. She changed into a plum-colored skirt and a lilac one-piece bathing suit. She slipped on a pair of gold flip-flops and walked outside.

Violet walked down the hallway until she saw a cream-colored door with the letters IQ painted in silver on it.

"Issy?" called Violet as she tapped the door, "Are you awake?"

A few seconds later, Isadora opened the door. She was dressed in a navy-blue one-piece swimsuit with a black, semi-translucent beach wrap tied around her waist

"I'll be out in a second," said Isadora and ran to the corner, slipped on a pair of silver flip-flops, and hurried back outside.

"I'm ready," said the poet.

"Let's go," said Violet.

When they got to the beach, Isadora froze.

"What's wrong?" asked Violet then turned her head in the direction that her friend was looking at, "Oh."

Klaus was sitting on a bolder with Fiona on his lap. Fiona wore a very tiny red bikini with a green shawl that she wore over her shoulders. Klaus was completely enthralled with her; a phrase here that means that all of his attention was on Fiona so he didn't notice the redness on Isadora's face because if he had, he would have stopped looking at Fiona.

"Issy?" said Violet but Isadora had run away from the bolder. Violet headed towards the bulletin board that Thaddeus placed on the beach, eager to get away from there.

The Tropical Island Dance will be held tomorrow night at 9:00 

_There will be music, refreshments and don't forget to bring a date._

"Violet?" called a voice from behind. Violet looked back and saw one of the triplets approach her.

"It's me, Duncan," said Duncan, "Violet will you come to…"

"Hi, Violet," said Quigley, pushing his brother aside, "will you go to the dance with me?"

"I was going to ask her," complained Duncan as he got up.

"Was," said Quigley.

"You pushed me!"

"Guys!" yelled Violet, "Just stop it okay?"

"I'm sorry," said Duncan, "we just got frustrated."

"Well I asked," said Quigley, "who's it going to be?"

Violet sighed, "I choose…"

"Hello," greeted Thaddeus, "I just wanted to tell you that I had just received a telegram from a friend. VFD wants me to help decode a series of anagrams, so I must return to the _Mystery_ until after nightfall."

"That long for anagrams?" asked Quigley.

"A very long series of anagrams, "corrected Thaddeus, "and to top it all off, we have to take the decoded words and put them into paragraphs!"

"But I thought that the _Mystery_ remained neutral," said Duncan.

"It does," said Thaddeus, "but I have to make money somehow and the VFD pays its employees well even though he or she is not part of the schism."

"Aye! Let's go! Aye! He who hesitates is lost! Aye!" yelled ex-captain Widdershins as he struggled to get into the longboat.

"Well, I had better go," said Thaddeus, "yes, ex-captain Widdershins is coming with me, so I'm leaving Phil and Fernald in charge, bye."

As Thaddeus helped ex-captain Widdershins into the long boat and got himself in, Duncan and Quigley looked behind them to find out that Violet was gone.

The eldest Baudelaire ran as fast as she could, carrying her flip-flops in her left hand, and hid in a bush. She was not ready to tell them. Not yet.


	6. Chapter 6

**Disclaimer: I do not own ASOUE**

"Can I have your attention please?" said Phil in the microphone. "Fernald and I got together and decided that since it is a vacation, the dance will be held tonight instead of tomorrow night. Bye."

"Good thing we shopped early," said Violet as she walked out of the island shopping center with Isadora.

"I agree," said Sunny, popping out of Isadora's bag.

Beatrice popped out of Violet's bag with a little, "meeekt," which probably meant, "me too."

As soon as the four girls got to the resort, each of them took their clothes and walked into their individual rooms. After eight minutes, each girl walked out of her room in her new outfit.

Isadora walked out of her room in a long, low back, dark blue velvet dress with a black sash, black heels, and with a tinge of foundation and lipstick. Her black hair was held up in a high ponytail.

Violet wore a sleeveless plum-colored dress with a gold chain around her neck and black heels and a light coating of cherry-red lipstick. Her brown hair was tied in a bun.

Sunny came out in a powder blue pencil dress and white shoes. She wore no makeup.

"_C'est naturale_," said Sunny.

Beatrice crawled out of her room in an orange dress that went down to her feet when she stood, her gold shoes were on the wrong feet, and lipstick and eyeliner were smeared all over her face.

"It needs work," said Violet as she took out a hand wipe from her purse and wiped Beatrice's face while Isadora changed her shoes.

"Let's go," said Sunny.

Meanwhile:

Duncan had just fixed his suit when Quigley pushed him away from the mirror, causing Duncan to fall on his stomach.

"Hey," said Duncan.

"You were taking forever."

"You didn't have to push me!"

"Sorry that I want to look my best for my date."

"Dude, Violet's not your date."

"Not yet."

"Why can't you just let _her_ decide? Just because you're a few minutes older than me and always got what I wanted, it doesn't mean that Violet likes you!"

"Look, I'm sorry, okay, Duncan?"

"Forget it," said Duncan, "I'll just use the mirror in the bathroom."

"While you're there, can you get me my corsage?"

Duncan groaned, "Fine, where is it?"

"It's there," said Quigley as he quietly crept towards the bathroom door, "just keep looking."

"Quigley, where…" began Duncan, but quickly got cut off by the sound of Quigley slamming the bathroom door.

"Sorry brother," said Quigley as he locked the bathroom door, "but love won't wait."

"QUIGLEY! OPEN THE DOOR!" yelled Duncan while pounding on the door but Quigley had already left the room.

Quigley entered the dance room and spotted Violet talking to Sunny near the punch bowl.

"Excuse me," said Quigley, "it's Quigley, will you dance with me?"

"Sure," said Violet and took a brief look around the dance floor before taking Quigley's hand.

Isadora stood in the corner, face as read as a beat when she spotted Klaus with Fiona, who was wearing a bright-green mini-dress.

"Will you excuse me?" asked Fiona.

"Of course," said Klaus.

Isadora knew that it wasn't her business, but curiosity and the feeling that something was wrong got the better of her and she followed Fiona to the girl's bathroom and opened the door a little so she could see.

Fiona took a walkie-talkie out of her handbag and pushed a button.

"Is everything going to plan?" asked a voice that sounded like Fernald.

"Yes," said Fiona, "Klaus doesn't suspect a thing."

"Perfect," said Fernald, "soon the Baudelaire fortune will be ours."

Isadora gasped. Fiona quickly turned her head towards the door. She only got out in time to see Isadora running towards Klaus.

"Is there a problem?" asked Fernald.

"The Quagmire girl knows," said Fiona.


	7. Chapter 7

Disclaimer: I do not own ASOUE 

"KLAUS!" yelled Isadora, "KLAUS!"

Klaus turned and saw Isadora running towards him.

"Issy, what happened?" asked Klaus.

"Fiona," Isadora panted, "she's evil, she and Fernald are after your fortune!"

"What?"

"Klaus," said Fiona from behind Isadora.

"STAY AWAY FROM HIM!" yelled Isadora as she pushed Fiona away.

"Issy," said Klaus, "what's gotten into you?"

"Isn't it obvious?" said Fiona, "She's jealous."

"Issy…"

"SHE'S LEADING YOU INTO A TRAP!"

Isadora felt cold metal on her arms.

"You're disrupting the dance," said Fernald.

"Let's go," said Fiona and pulled Klaus away.

"KLAUS!" yelled Isadora, struggling to get out of Fernald's grip.

Meanwhile:

Duncan slammed his shoulder against the door in vain. He sat on the floor with his back against the wall.

'It's hopeless,' thought Duncan until something silver caught his eye in the corner. He got up and walked to the spot. What he saw was a painted metal door with a scratch in the paint. Curious, he opened the metal door and revealed a ventilation shaft that he could travel in if he crawled.

"Of course," said Duncan as he crawled into the tunnel, "Violet, here I come."

Isadora stomped on Fernald's foot and punctured it with her heels. The pain caused him to howl in pain and let go of his captive. Isadora did not hesitate to run away from him and out of the ballroom.

She stopped to catch her breath in the hallway when she heard Fiona giggling upstairs. Isadora ran into the stairway, held her dress, took off her shoes and ran up the stairs. When she reached the second floor, she ran straight down the hallway and stopped at a dead end.

"Where are you taking me?" Isadora heard Klaus ask, "And how did you know about the secret passageway?"

"Fernald is in charge, remember?" responded Fiona, "He has all the maps to the resort."

'Secret passageway?' thought Isadora and tapped on the wall ahead of her. An echo-y noise indicated that the wall was hollow. She rammed her shoulder into the wall repeatedly without success when she saw small pieces of grey debris at her feet.

Isadora crouched down and ran her finger through the debris until it slid under the wall. She put both of her hands into the opening and, with effort, she lifted the wall.

Ahead of her was what looked like a mineshaft with only a few scattered oil lanterns to light the path. Her feet felt uncomfortable as she ran without shoes on the debris that covered the floor. But the blisters that were already on her feet in the first place reminded her that her high heels would have made the ordeal worse so she kept going.

"Well, said Klaus, "who knew that Thaddeus would have a place like this?"

"Who can say?" responded Fiona as she finished putting on her lip-gloss, "But we're alone."

Fiona pulled Klaus into a kiss. They were at the height of passion when Isadora ran in.

"KLAUS, GET AWAY FROM HER!" yelled Isadora.

"Issy?" said Klaus, "What are you doing here?"

The exhausted poet opened her mouth to speak when she felt cold metal on her left arm and around her neck.

"Issy?!" yelled Klaus and tried to step forward, but he found that his legs went numb and collapsed.

"What's happening?" demanded Klaus as his arms began to shake until they eventually caved.

Fiona held up her lip-gloss, "Pendrium Paralisium, a rare mushroom that grows in the tropics and temporarily paralyzes the consumer."

Meanwhile:

Dust bunnies formed on his jacket as Duncan crawled through the ventilation shaft.

"_Get me my corsage, Duncan_," he muttered angrily, "oh when I get to the dance I'm going to shove it right up your…"

"LET US GO!" Duncan heard someone say.

'Issy?' thought Duncan and crawled to where he heard the cry. He opened the metal door in front of him a crack and saw his sister being held by the throat by Fernald and a figure that looked like Klaus lying numb by Fiona's feet.

"And miss out on an extra enormous payday?" said Fiona, "I don't think so."

"Oh and while you're here," Fernald said to Isadora, "I think that we could also grab a few sapphires while we're at it."

"How _are_ you going to get our fortunes?" said Isadora, "The Baudelaire fortune will go to Violet first and my sapphires will go to my brothers, you won't get anything from us!"

Fernald and Fiona laughed.

"You think that we did not think about that?" responded Fiona and pressed a button on what looked like a detonator. The number 20 lit up in a red color and a beeping sound was heard. Both Duncan and Isadora gasped (though no one heard Duncan).

"That's the amount of time everyone at the dance has to enjoy their night," said Fernald. Both Fiona and Fernald cackled.

Duncan crawled out of the shaft as quickly as he could and ran to the nearest telephone and dialed a number.


	8. Chapter 8

**Disclaimer: I do not own ASOUE**

"Hello," someone answered on the phone.

"Thaddeus!" yelled Duncan and began babbling, "My sister and Klaus have been kidnapped and a bomb is going to go off in the ballroom."

"Slow down," said Thaddeus, "take a deep breath and tell me what happened."

Duncan did what he was told and began, "I was in the ventilation shaft when I heard my sister scream. Then I saw Fernald and Fiona holding her and Klaus in some sort of tunnel. And…and…and they set up a bomb in the ballroom."

"Damn, I should have seen this coming!" Duncan was shaken by Thaddeus's sudden outburst.

"I called my friend and it turns out that the anagrams were a decoy," explained the ship captain, "it took us a few hours to trace that they came from the island. Look, you have to tell me what the tunnel looked like."

"How could you not know?" yelled Duncan.

"There is more than one secret passage," yelled Thaddeus, "hell, my wife's walk-in closet extends to the island!"

Duncan took in a deep breath, "it looked like a mine shaft."

"Thank you, now get everyone out of the ballroom, don't worry, the passageway is incomplete and I doubt that Fernald and Fiona will be able to get out of the resort past my guards in time for them to position themselves. Now go!"

Duncan immediately hung up the phone and ran down the stairs. He was only two floors from the ballroom and the elevator wouldn't go fast enough. He had already lost ten minutes.

Meanwhile:

"Having fun?" asked Quigley after the slow song was done.

"Wonderful," said Violet. Quigley leaned in for a kiss. After a few seconds, Violet pulled away.

"What's wrong?' asked Quigley.

"I'm just surprised that Duncan didn't show up and I'm worried about him."

Quigley remained quiet.

"Where is he?" asked Violet.

"Well," began Quigley, "when a man really wants something, he has to…lock his problems in the bathroom."

Violet glared at him, "I don't believe it. I can't believe that I choose you over him!"

Violet power-walked to the door, speeding her pace with each step. She was running for the exit when she bumped into Duncan.

"Duncan?" asked Violet as he helped her up.

"Yes, it's me," responded the triplet as Violet hugged him.

"Duncan, I'm so sorry."

"Violet," said Duncan, "you're brother is in trouble."

"What?! What happened?!"

"YOU!" yelled Quigley, "How did you get out of there?"

"Now's not the time," responded Duncan, "Fernald and Fiona have Issy and Klaus trapped in a tunnel on this island and set a bomb to the ballroom."

"Oh my God," said Quigley, as embarrassed as he was, he wasn't about to let his feelings for a girl get in the way of the greater good, especially if his sister was in trouble.

"Thaddeus is on his way," continued Duncan, "but we have to get everyone out of here."

"Why does he have so many guests?" asked Violet.

Meanwhile:

Fiona had put Klaus in a giant birdcage with wheels, tying his body to the wall to support his body, which was still paralyzed. After Fiona was done, Fernald shoved Isadora in with Klaus and slammed the door of the birdcage. Fiona and Fernald picked up two ropes and began pulling the birdcage.

"Issy," said Klaus weakly, "I'm so sorry."

"It wasn't your fault," responded Isadora. She blushed; it was so tight in the birdcage that they were pressed against each other.

"No," said Klaus, "I was stupid enough to trust her and you tried to warn me. Now you have to suffer for my mistake."

Isadora put her finger on his lips.

"_If one thing is true,  
It is that I love you_," recited Isadora.

"Isn't that sweet?" interrupted Fiona, "But it won't save everyone at the dance." Fiona held up the detonator to remind them that the bomb was going to go off in three minutes.

Meanwhile:

"How much time do we have?" asked Quigley. Duncan looked at his watch.

"Three minutes."

"Three minutes?" said Violet, "We only managed to convince half of them in seven, we won't make it!"

Duncan spotted something red in the corner (Duncan has a really good eye).

"Why didn't I think of this before?" said Duncan and ran to the corner

"What is it?" asked Violet as she followed him, Quigley following close behind.

Duncan reached a fire alarm and broke the glass.

The alarm caused everyone to panic and run out of the ballroom like crazy. Sunny and Beatrice would have been crushed to death if Violet hadn't stopped to pick them up and followed the Quagmire boys out of the ballroom.

"Five…Four…Three…Two…One."

BOOM! Marble, stone, wood, glass, and punch flew everywhere and a big cloud of smoke filled the sky.


	9. Chapter 9

"Is everyone all right?" asked Duncan in the resort courtyard.

"I think so," responded Violet.

"Duncan! Violet! Quigley!" someone yelled in the crowd. The group turned their heads in the direction of the voice and saw Thaddeus and ex-captain Widdershins pushing through the crowd.

"Over here!" yelled Violet and held up Beatrice. Thaddeus pushed his way towards them.

"Is everyone all right?" asked the captain.

""Is everyone all right?!" yelled ex-captain Widdershins, "Aye! We can't sit down, have tea, and exchange pleasantries! Aye! We should send a search party! No, run after them! No, sit down in fetal position and suck your thumbs! No, call the proper authorities! He who hesitates is lost! Aye!"

Thaddeus put up his hand to silence him, "you need not worry, I have everything under control."

"But my brother…" began Violet.

Thaddeus smiled, "Don't you trust me?"

Meanwhile;

Isadora buried her head in Klaus's chest, hot tears marking a spot on his shirt. Streams of salt water drenched Klaus's face. The tunnel echoed with Fernald and Fiona's laughter.

"Issy," whispered Klaus, trying to suppress the knot in his throat, "I'm so sorry."

Isadora opened her mouth to reassure him, but the only thing that came out was a sob. Klaus pressed his lips against Isadora's forehead.

"Oh, pull yourselves together," groaned Fernald, "we're going to need you both to be alive if we want your fortunes."

"Um, Fernald," said Fiona and pointed ahead of them. At the end of the passageway, a row of armed associates with golden question marks on their chests blocked the passage.

Thaddeus, Violet, Duncan, Quigley, Sunny, and Beatrice emerged from the row of associates. Klaus and Isadora let down tears of happiness.

"I admit that was a well-planned decoy," said Thaddeus, "but need I remind you that I could call my security even from the _Mystery_?"

"That's impossible," said Fernald, "you didn't even know where we were!"

Duncan smirked.

"But how?" asked Violet.

"Well," began Duncan proudly, a phrase here which means that he was happy for the attention that he was getting from Violet, "when I was locked in the bathroom, I had to get to the ballroom through the ventilation shaft and, before I knew it, I heard my sister scream."

Isadora smiled. Violet hugged Duncan and kissed him on the cheek.

"Why you son of a…" began Fiona.

"Take them away," commanded Thaddeus. Two security personnel stepped forward, but couldn't get to Fernald and Fiona in time for Fiona to throw a smoke bomb. By the time everyone could see, Fernald and Fiona had disappeared.

Rather than trying to go after them, Violet and the Quagmire boys ran to the birdcage and helped Klaus and Isadora out after they were able to break the padlock. Isadora immediately ran out and hugged her brothers before helping Violet support Klaus.

"Can you walk?" Thaddeus asked Klaus.

"I don't know," responded Klaus.

"Try."

Violet and Isadora let go of him. The middle Baudelaire took one step forward before his legs started shaking. Violet and Isadora caught him before he collapsed.

"Take him around the island," said Thaddeus, "he needs to walk it out."

Violet and Isadora did as they were told and Klaus made slow and shaky progress out of the tunnel.

"The longboat's missing!" yelled ex-captain Widdershins, "We must go after them Aye!"

"No," said Thaddeus, "once we get involved in a schism, it's hard to get out. Besides, where could they possibly go? The _Mystery_ has security and the longboat won't take them very far."

After Violet, Isadora, and Klaus reached the beach, Klaus was able to walk slowly on his own.

"Will you be all right?" asked Violet.

"I think so," responded her brother.

"Is it okay if I leave you with Issy? I have some things to take care of."

Klaus looked at Isadora, who gave him a quick nod, "Sure."

After Violet walked away, Isadora helped Klaus sit down on the beach. Millions of bright stars filled the black sky.

"Are you all right?" asked Klaus.

"What are you talking about? Besides the fact that my feet are killing me, I'm fine," responded Isadora, "I'm worried about you."

"No," said Klaus, "I mean the way Fiona treated you. Not just down there but every day. And I was too stupid to even notice."

"No you weren't, you were caught in a trap." Isadora's heart was beating fast. Their faces were only centimeters away.

"You didn't have to come after me."

"Yes I did." She put his lips to his and put her arms around his neck. She didn't want it to stop

Meanwhile:

Duncan wandered aimlessly into the courtyard and stared at the remains of the ballroom.

"And to think that our remains would have ended up in there," Duncan jumped; Violet was approaching him from behind.

"Violet…"

"Duncan, I can't thank you enough. Not only for Klaus, which is a big enough of a event on its own, but you saved everyone from the bomb: Quigley, Sunny, Beatrice…"

"You."

Violet blushed. Duncan held her hand.

"Do you want to dance?"

"Sure."

He pulled her towards him as they began to slow dance. After two minutes, they stared into each other's eyes and Duncan leaned into a kiss that lasted the entire "dance".


	10. Chapter 10

p>**Disclaimer: I do not own ASOUE**

The next morning:

Thaddeus ate breakfast with Phil and ex-captain Widdershins.

"So," said Phil, "you have a family."

"Yes," said Thaddeus, "a wife and three children."

"And none of them know about this?" asked the ex-captain, gesturing his surroundings.

"Oh, they know about the island," said Thaddeus, "just not about the _Mystery_ and what I do, though my oldest daughter is a bit suspicious. It's uncanny how she can know these things."

"How do you explain the amount of time you spend away from them?" asked Phil.

"I used to tell them that I'm on a business trip in Shanghai," said Thaddeus, "but the excuse started to wear thin, so now I use Chicago or Boston."

"Isn't it risky to use the walk-in closet as a secret passageway?"

"Don't worry yourselves, it is so long and cold that no one would ever go far enough to discover it."

"Daddy?" came a voice from behind.

The Baudelaires, Quagmires, and Beatrice had breakfast in the same restaurant at a different table.

"I'm glad that the love triangles are over," said Sunny.

"Meekt," agreed Beatrice, which probably meant, "me too."

"Let's have a toast then," said Quigley, raising his orange juice, "to no more love triangles."

"To no more love triangles," everyone else toasted.

"Ladies and gentlemen," announced Thaddeus and held up a five-year-old boy with brown hair and tanned skin, "my son, Dylan."

"Dylan," said Sunny and Beatrice in unison.

"I never knew that he had a son," said Duncan.

"Where are Sunny and Beatrice?" asked Violet.

"Hey!"

Everyone looked in the direction of the shout and saw Sunny and Beatrice chasing Dylan around the restaurant, occasionally pushing each other.

Everyone at the table laughed until they fell off their chairs.

**The End**


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